5 Tips on Effective CTA Design

A good user interface consists of many different elements designed right. Each of these elements has a powerful role to play in the overall user experience of a product or application.

Not only this, elements and their placements also impact the conversion rates of web applications.

One of the many significant elements of a great website is the CTA button.  

A call-to-action (CTA) button is an interactive element of a user interface. Most often, it is used to persuade a visitor to take some specific action from the interface. This action further adds to the conversion rate for that particular web-page or application.

Just like all other elements of a page, a great CTA button is a vital (perhaps even the most important) tool to convert visitors and generate leads.

However, CTA buttons can fulfill this crucial task only if they appropriately follow certain aspects.

Let’s take a look at the design and placement rules that form high conversion CTAs

Clickable

A CTA button should always be designed to make it clickable. So, what makes a button look clickable?

A button might seem more clickable when designers add some 3D effect to it. For example, a CTA with a slight gradient or a small shadow usually brings the desire to push a button since it looks more salient. If a button with a 3D effect doesn’t suit the chosen style, for example, flat design, clickability can be emphasized via rounded edges of a button.

Proper Size

Size is one of the most common tools helping to arrange UI components according to their importance. The bigger an element is, the more noticeable it becomes. Since CTAs’ prior goal is to draw users’ attention, large buttons have high chances to be noticed and clicked.

However,  you have to keep some limits. A compelling call-to-action button is usually big enough to be quickly found but not too big so that the visual composition and hierarchy of the layout is spoilt.

Colors

Color choice for a CTA depends on various aspects. Often, this makes the process more complicated.

However, there is one condition which is vital to keep in mind while choosing colors for CTA: the buttons and background colors should be contrasting enough so that CTAs would stand out from the other UI components.

For example, if a designer uses the blue color palette for the layout, it would be a good idea to use red or yellow color for CTA buttons.

Color choice of CTA buttons (for the entire brand, in fact) also depends on what emotion or image you wish to portray of your brand. Different colors signify different traits. Here’s a quick breakdown for reference.

• Red. Confidence, youth, and power.
• Orange. Friendly, warm, and energetic.
• Yellow. Happiness, optimism, and warmth.
• Green. Peace, growth, and health.
• Blue. Trust, security, and stability.
• Purple. Luxurious, creative, and wise.
• Black. Reliable, sophisticated, and experienced.
• White. Simple, calm, and clean.                  

Microcopy

CTA microcopy is actually a call which tells users what action they will take if they click the button. The powerful CTA microcopy has to catch users’ attention quickly and lead them right to the action.

To make an effective call-to-action, you need to keep the number of words at a minimum. A few appropriately chosen words work much faster than a long descriptive phrase. In addition, by applying imperative case in the microcopy, you give strong and direct instructions of what users can do next.

User Flow

Big size and bright colors are effective tools for catching users’ attention but smart placement can increase the chances of CTAs to be noticed even more.

User flow, also known as user journey, is a path which users follow in a digital product to complete a certain task, for example, an online purchase.

User flow helps to create UX that way so that people could go step-by-step to their goal receiving the data gradually.

Keeping the user journey in mind, you can choose efficient placement for CTA buttons.

For example, creating a landing page design you need to make sure users will find the “Sign up” CTA button after they read the information about the offer or services. This way users will have an understanding of what they are signing up and if they need it. In case people see such CTA button before they read the information there are high chances that they will just ignore it.

Conclusion

Great UI and UX is a culmination of various elements strategically put together. A well designed and placed CTA has the power to massively contribute to lead generation. The best practice is to design buttons and test them basis their placement on the page. This way, you get to figure out the most profitable option for your page and convert leads.